Bulgaria has reached full agreement under the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Program in the amount of 76 million Swiss francs at this point in time, informed Deputy Prime Minister for EU funds and economic policy Tomislav Donchev, who attended a briefing on the Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Program to reduce economic and social disparities within the enlarged European Union along with Minister of Environment and Waters Ivelina Vasileva and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.
"Full agreement on the funds is the final result that we pursue. On the basis of good cooperation that both sides were able to show in recent years we have every chance of bringing things to a good end," said Donchev. He commented that the program involved a true partnership, in which both countries are sufficiently motivated. "We are talking not only about the transfer of money and experience, but also of creating conditions for long-term partnership between the institutions," he added.
The Deputy Prime Minister for EU funds informed about two major projects under the program on "Environment and Infrastructure". One is "Environmentally friendly disposal of obsolete pesticides and other plant protection products past the expiry date" with a total budget of 23,445,998 Swiss francs, of which 19,929,098 Swiss francs is provided through Swiss grants.
Another project in the same area is "Research and development of pilot models for environmentally sound collection and temporary storage of hazardous waste from households" with a total budget of 8,823,267 Swiss francs, of which 7,499,776 Swiss francs are Swiss grants. The Ministry of Environment and Waters will manage both projects. Donchev mentioned two other interesting projects. One involves modernized trams for Sofia City from Basel and has a total budget of 3,000,000 Swiss francs, of which 2.55 million Swiss francs are Swiss grants, while the other is for methodological support for the development of "green public procurements" in Bulgaria with a total budget of 545,000 Swiss francs, of which 463,250 Swiss francs are Swiss grants. Donchev also spoke about implementation of the system for dual training in Bulgaria, where our country will use not only financial resources but also Swiss experience.
